Lieutenant Governor Promoting Flu Shots for Iowans

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IOWA -- There's still time to get a flu shot, and one elected official is showing how easy it is.

On Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg braved the needle in front of his co-worker with a big smile on his face. Gregg wanted to help raise awareness of the importance for all Iowans to get flu shots.

An official from the Iowa Department of Health says so far the vaccines seem to be working against the different strains of flu identified throughout the state as well as the country. However, only time will tell just how bad this year's flu season could be.

"I will tell you one thing, though, which predicts how bad our flu season is going to be, and that's what's happened in the southern hemisphere during their winter, our summer. And, unfortunately, Australia and New Zealand, the southern hemisphere, had a very bad flu season. Which is sort of predictive that we will have a bad flu season, also," said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the State Medical Director.

Quinlisk said the flu is one of the top 10 causes of death in Iowa. The flu has been spreading around state for about a month now, and officials predict it will only get worse for the next couple months. So far this year, the flu has claimed one life in Iowa.